The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday voted to advance the confirmation of Shift4 Payments CEO and private astronaut Jared Isaacman—President Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator—to the full Senate.
Isaacman’s confirmation was reported favorably after a 19-9 committee vote, with all “no” votes coming from Democrats. The partisan divide is notable, considering Isaacman has donated to both Democratic and Republican efforts and was grilled by Senators from both parties about his plans for the moon and Mars—and his ties to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk—during a hearing earlier in April.
If confirmed by the full Senate, Isaacman would take the reins from acting NASA administrator Janet Petro, whom Trump appointed when former agency chief Bill Nelson resigned in January. Other key NASA officials followed suit in February.
Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chair of the committee, and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), its ranking Democrat, said they believe Isaacman will keep NASA’s Artemis moon mission program humming—a key point of contention during his previous hearing.
Earlier this month, Isaacman said the space agency could pursue moon and Mars missions simultaneously. He added, though, that he would “prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars” and that NASA would develop the capabilities to return to the moon “along the way.”
Cantwell said staying the course with Artemis is the “key requirement that we have to have in this position,” while Cruz described the missions as “our path to predominance in space,” alluding to China’s ambition to land humans on the moon before 2030. NASA’s Artemis III lunar landing has twice been delayed, pushing it from 2025 to no earlier than mid-2027.
“I believe pursuing both lunar and Martian objectives is not inherently cost-prohibitive nor expressly prohibited by existing federal statute should such efforts not detract from the near-term objective of returning to the moon first,” Isaacman wrote in response to questions from Cruz and other committee members, published last week.
The nominee added that he aims to get Artemis “back on track” by addressing “bureaucracy, program misalignment, and lack of accountability.” He affirmed his support for keeping NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) as the Artemis II and Artemis III launch vehicle. But beyond those missions, he advocated for the space agency to let the commercial sector develop launch vehicles and focus its energy on more complex technologies, such as nuclear-powered spacecraft.
Ultimately, Isaacman committed to following federal laws that direct NASA to use the moon as a “stepping stone” toward Mars exploration. That was enough for Cruz to offer his support.
Cantwell agreed that Isaacman “seems to be committed to the current plan for lander redundancies, [SLS], and returning to the moon as fast as possible.” However, she expressed concern about the Trump administration’s proposal to slash NASA’s science budget by about 50 percent, which would force the space agency to cancel certain projects.
In his published responses to questions from senators, Isaacman said he was not aware of the budget proposal but that a 50 percent cut “does not appear to be an optimal outcome.” He further called Earth science “one of NASA’s most important missions” and, notably, appeared to oppose the administration with his support for the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The multibillion-dollar project—which Trump suggested to axe—is nearly completed.
“I will advocate for strong investment in space science—across astrophysics, planetary science, Earth science, lunar science, and heliophysics—and for securing as much funding as the government can reasonably allocate,” Isaacman wrote.
Breaking with other Democrats, Cantwell supported the Shift4 CEO’s confirmation—with the caveat that Congress must “continue to get leadership out of the administration on clarification of supporting a robust NASA budget.”
A date for Isaacman’s confirmation before the full Senate has not yet been set. He has received broad support from the space industry and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Wednesday’s partisan split, though, suggests the final vote could be closer than previously expected.
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